U.S. Car Sales Decline 3.9% During April
Following very strong sales in the first quarter of 1988, total U.S. automobile sales dropped 3.9% in April, the auto industry reported Wednesday. The decline was led by a steep drop in sales at General Motors.
Among the domestic auto manufacturers, auto sales fell 5.8% in April, while sales of imported vehicles rose 1.6% for the month.
“Sales have been unusually strong for the first three months of 1988, (in a large part because they were) boosted by incentives,” said Cynthia Certo, an auto analyst with Integrated Automotive Resources, a Wayne, Pa., research firm. “They’ve leveled out a bit for April. Some of the incentives have expired since then.”
“The most important result of the April sales is that GM, despite its increased sales push, is still in the weakest position of the Big Three auto manufacturers,” said Dennis Spurduto, an auto analyst with Argus Research in New York.
Analysts said that although GM has implemented similar incentive programs as Ford and Chrysler, Chrysler is very strong on its pricing, and Ford is strong on its product. These strengths--as well as increased competition from imported vehicles--continue to whittle away market share from GM.
GM’s auto sales dropped 14.2% in April, giving it a 35% share of the entire auto market. This is down from the 39.1% share that GM received in April, 1987. GM’s share of the domestic auto market also fell. GM took a 48.3% share of the domestic market, compared to 53% last year.
Light Trucks a Factor
Ford’s auto sales dropped 1.4% in April, giving it a 28.6% share of the domestic auto market, up from 27.3% last year. Ford’s share of the entire auto market--including imports--was 20.7%, up from 20.2% last year.
Chrysler’s sales continued to be strong in April. Its sales rose 8.8%, giving it a 14.6% share of the domestic auto market, up from 12.6% the previous year. Chrysler took 10.6% of the entire auto market, an increase from the 10.2% that it received the year before.
Despite price increases due to the devaluation of the dollar against the Japanese yen, sales of imported autos gained slightly. The imports took a 27.5% share of the entire auto market, up from 26% in the previous April. The import totals do not include the transplants, which are autos built by foreign auto manufacturers in plants located in the United States.
Among the major import manufacturers, Toyota’s sales rose 0.4%, Honda’s sales increased 1.2% and Nissan’s sales rose 7.3%. A few imports did not fare as well. Volkswagen’s sales dropped 25%, Volvo’s sales fell 21.5% and Subaru’s sales dropped 5.8%.
Light trucks account for an increasing amount of business among many auto manufacturers. Chrysler’s sales of light trucks rose a steep 18% in April, to 84,897 units in 1988 from 71,918 units in 1987. Ford’s light truck sales fell 2.9% in April, to 124,849 units in 1988 from 128,562 units in 1987. GM’s light truck sales rose 1.4%, to 139,360 in 1988 from 137,472 units in 1987.
AUTO SALES
% April 1988 change GM 314,671 -14.2 Ford 186,175 -1.4 Chrysler 95,170 +8.8 HondaUS* 33,860 +22.8 Nissan US 10,649 -13.1 VW US 4,625 -11.0 ToyotaUS* 4,115 +4.5 MazdaUS* 2,295 - Domestic 651,560 -5.8 Toyota Imp. 43,605 +0.4 Nissan Imp. 31,197 +7.3 Honda Imp. 30,302 +1.2 Mazda 16,818 +29.2 Subaru 11,537 -5.8 VW Imp. 11,922 -25.0 Volvo 7,922 -21.5 Hyundai 25,157 +18.0 Mitsubishi 6,054 -3.5 Others* 63,065 +1.2 Imports* 247,579 +1.6 Total US 899,139 -3.9
